Surrender Your Heart
by HC247
Summary: Modern Day. She had sworn of men and marriage. He had vowed to never love again. Two people burned ny love devote their lives to keeping it away at all costs, only to find that sometimes, the heart has other plans.....Eventual EC.


Welcome to my latest endeavor at a modern day. Thsi idea came to me only recently and I thought it would make a great story topic. I hope you enjoy it and pleas ebe sure to leave your thoughts in a review.

That said, onto the story. A huge thank you to my beta Sunrise19 for her help with this! I hope you all enjoy...

"Surrender Your Heart."

Prologue?Chapter 1

...00000...

"This can't be happening."

Though barley spoken above a whisper, that simple statement caused a small gathering of women to immediately cease their chatter and turn toward the center of the room. A generous bouquet of white roses and lilies fell to the floor with a soft thud as the bride's hands shook, unable to keep her grip on the flowers any longer.

The maid of honor quickly pushed her way to the front of the group and took her friend by the shoulders "Christine, what is it?"

Chocolate eyes filled with tears met her blue ones as the bride moved out of Megan's grasp and sank into the nearby chair. She said nothing, only thrust a piece of paper in her friend's direction, shaking it to tell her to take it. When she did, the hand moved to join the other in coving her face and letting out a suppressed cry.

Confused about what could possibly reduce her best friend, normally such a strong and confident woman, to nothing more than a sobbing emotional wreck, the blonde looked from her to the others, before finally lifting her eyes to the paper she held in her hand. _There's no easy way to tell you this…. _Meg inwardly groaned. Any letter that began with those words usually never held good news. Swallowing hard, she forced herself to read on.

_Christine,_

_There's no easy way to tell you this. I have been up half of the night, trying to find a way to just forget all about it and make this work. Believe me I have tried. But I can't pretend anymore. The truth is, I can't marry you. I'm in love with someone else. I know this sounds like the oldest excuse in the book, but there is no other way to put it. Something happened to me over the past few months and I've come to realize that you are not the one meant for me. I would never want to lead you on. That is why I am telling you this now and not five years from now. I'm trying to save you from the pain of the divorce that I know would be inevitable if in fact we did marry. Please don't think that I don't love you, Chris. I do, just not as deeply as I first thought. I know it may not seem like it, but I am sorry for hurting you. I hope you find someone who loves you the way that you deserved to be loved. Because you deserve that, Christine. I just can't be the one to give it to you. _

_Best Wishes_

_Brent_

Meg felt her eyes slide shut and she let out a frustrated sigh. How could he do this to her? On her wedding day? He could have at least told her before hand. Why would he simply leave her at the alter, only to have his brother walk in, hand Christine the note, give her a sympathetic smile, and then take off as if he were delivering the morning paper. He said he didn't want to hurt her, but he had.

More than he would ever know.

Megan turned back to the group. "Could we have a few moments alone?"

Soft murmurs rippled through the women as they moved out of the chamber, the rustle of fancy gowns the only sound as they exited. Christine sat oblivious to all of them, face still covered with her hands and her shoulder still shaking slightly from her emotional breakdown. Megan walked over to her and knelt down in front of the wingback chair. "Chris, are you alright?."

She already knew the answer to that question.

Christine finally lifted her head to face her friend. Her mascara stained eyes clashed with her red face and if this had been a different situation, Meg would have laughed out loud.

But this was no laughing matter.

"Come on, girl." Meg gently pulled on her friend's hand and let her to the loveseat on the other side of the room so they could both sit comfortably. Once they were seated, Meg placed a comforting arm around the young woman's shoulders. "He's not worth it, Chris."

A sniff came from the bride as she wiped her eyes. "I thought he loved me."

"He says he does. Just not that way. Trust me, I'm so mad at the guy right now, I could give him a few choice words and actions." Meg huffed as she recalled the past few minutes. "No one hurts my best friend and gets away with it."

A ghost of a smile crossed Christine's face. "Thanks."

"Besides." Megan shrugged. "This was probably for the best. As much as I hate to admit it, he was right about telling you now rather than five years from now. At least now you can move on with your life and find someone new. He's out there, sweetie. You just have to find him."

"I just don't want to end up an old maid." Chris muttered.

"Honey, you're only 21. That's hardly considered old."

" I know, but.." Christine paused. "I seriously thought Brent was the one. Maybe I'm just a horrible judge of character and I'm destined to be alone." She scoffed. Maybe I should just swear off men and marriage all together."

Meg considered the idea. "At least until you graduate."

Her friend's dry humor always made Christine smile, even in the dimmest of situations

Before Christine could respond, the two of the were interrupted by the official's knock on the door. Pastor Rick offered a sympathetic smile toward the young bride. "What should I tell everyone, Christine."

With as much dignity as Meg had ever seen, Christine stood straight, brushed a strand of chestnut hair out of her face and said calmly. "Tell them thank you for coming, but the wedding is off."

…0000...

Christine had met Brent Allen two years ago in her sophomore year of college. Both attended UCLA; she was a music major, he was majoring in business. A required Government 101 class had brought them together and Brent had immediately taken a shining to the quite Christine Donovan. He had been the big man on campus, handsome, popular, president of the student body and the school track star. Just about every girl on campus knew who Brent Allen was and all of the were green with envy when he asked Christine to Homecoming Weekend.

Much to their chagrin, Christine said yes.

From that point on, the two had been inseperable. If they weren't out together, they could be found in the library, hard at work on their studies. If Christine could ever say anything good had come of their relationship, it would have had to be that. After Brent saw his girlfriend's intent to graduate with honors, he began to study with her just to be near here. As time went on, tho, he too began to appreciate the value of an education. His grades had gone from borderline to a 3.2 average in only two semesters.

There were times when Meg even became irked with Christine because she spent more time with Brent than her best friend. They had it out on night about three months into Christine and Brent's relationship and both had come away with some new realizations. Megan had admitted, albeit a bit begrudgingly, that her friend had found someone of, what she thought then, quality and deserved to spend time with him.. On the other hand, Christine had realized that just because there was someone in her life now, that she shouldn't put her lifetime friend on the back burner.

After that, Megan had openly accepted Brent as part of their group and had eventually even begun to form a friendship with him. Elated that everyone in her life, even her parents, loved her new beau only made Christine all the more excited. It wasn't long before she started hinting about a possible proposal. Megan was worried about her sudden spontaneity, but brushed it off. If Brent was what made Chris happy, then that was all that mattered. After a year of dating, Berant asked Christine's father for his permission, pending a long engagement, of course. Impressed by the young man that his daughter had found, his father had agreed and on Christmas Eve of her junior year, Brent proposed to her on bended knee in front of her whole family.

Of course she had said yes.

From then on, Meg swore she could see eh wedding bells ringing in her friend's head every time they were together. It wasn't that she wasn't happy for her, she was, really. But Christine seemed to become obsessed overnight. She couldn't wait to get married!

It turned out that she wouldn't have to wait long after all.

By April, Berent was preparing to graduate with his bachelors and go on to earn his masters. The school that he had selected to attend was a thousand miles away. He and Christine sat down with her parents and spent half of a night debating to what the young couple should do. After many hours it was decided.

The couple would marry in July of that year, just three short months away. That would allow Brent to earn his MBA while Chris finished her undergrad work at the same school.

It seemed like the perfect solution.

….0000.….

"Christine? The meeting starts in ten minutes. Are you coming?"

"Thank you, Mary." Christine hung up the phone, pushed back form her desk, and gathered the paperwork that lay askew on her desk. This paperwork was going to be the death of her. Opening the drawer to retrieve her pen, an old photograph caught her eye and she lifted it ou. A smiling couple who looked like they didn't have a care in the world stared back at her, almost mocking her pristine outer shell like they could tell what was really going on inside.

She was mocking herself.

So was the man who broke her heart.

"Chris?" She looked up as Megan's head popped around the door. "Are you coming? The Reynolds-Astire party is here to disscuss some options."

She offered a slight smile toward her friend and business partner. "Tell them I'll be with them in a moment."

Meg nodded and shut the door.

Without another glance, Christine replaced the photo in her desk drawer and walked out of the room wearing the same professional façade that she had perfected over seven years ago.


End file.
